Never Give In
by Carl Wellington the Grunt
Summary: One year after Team Avatar defeated Lord Ozai, Aang is still recovering from mental scars due to past mistakes and is now alone. However the Fire Nation, defeated yet determined, returns to revive its lost empire. With the members of Team Avatar scattered or missing, who can Aang rely on to help save the newly freed world besides himself? Rated T for violence. Aang/Ty Lee
1. Chapter 1

**I thought it would be interesting concept to do and stories with Ty Lee and Aang as friends or a couple are few in number and usually left unfinished. The beginning might be slow but I hope you will enjoy it. I am happy to receive any criticism that will improve the writing. There are small changes I made to what happens during the Avatar series to either fit the story better or just out of ignorance. Please forgive me for this.**

Chapter 1 Is it Truly Over?

Cutting through the ocean near the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom, Aang could only feel the thrill of his newest game. Alongside that however was his nervousness from the risk he was taking. The airbending part by itself would not real difficult, but using the other three in addition might overburden him. "No point in not trying it," Aang confessed with a sigh.

Increasing his speed through the water on his air scooter, the Avatar started by using waterbending to lift four spheres from the ocean and rotating them around him in a clockwise direction. A good part of his concentration focused to maintain the circles' solid form without freezing their contents. Moving on to the next part, Aang, making an almost 90 degree turn, shot to where dozens of medium sized rocks jutted out of the ocean forming a dotted layer almost a mile long around the northern coast of the island, Kyoshi.

The Avatar then halted his air scooter close to one of the largest stones, bending a large portion from it, making a tall, cylinder. The object, directed with impressive control by Aang, swung incredibly fast and accurately between the balls going around him. After several passes, he aimed the stone rock to collide with an incoming sphere as the cylinder revolved outside the rotation.

With an echoing boom, the missile rocketed away, keeping its solid form while in the air. Though the ball was continuing to rise, it would soon plummet back down. Aang had to move fast. He repeated the same trick, the other three soon following the first sphere in the air. Now only needing to keep the spheres solid, the Avatar ended his earthbending by flinging the stone cylinder away and conjured flames from his palms. He grinned with excitement, this was the best part. Aang proceeded to move with his air scooter, catching up to the water spheres before they hit the ocean.

He started with the first projectile, which was falling rapidly and would land in less than a minute. Aang aiming both of the flames at the plummeting object, shooting them with the right speed to catch the sphere. Almost missing, the flaming projectiles hit the edge but nevertheless it worked! They turned the ball of water into a cloud of steam that hung still for several seconds, then dissipating. The Avatar summoned new flames and moved on to the last three, his fireballs closer to the middle of their target with each sphere.

With the dazzling remnants of his water balls mimicking stars in the afternoon sky, Aang could only marvel at the results his feat for a moment before exhaustion slammed into him. Of course, he realized, mentally hitting himself, he should have known this would happen. He had just started using all four elements together in his climactic duel with Ozai and it was done in the Avatar State. Even with a year of training, Aang rarely bended with them together now, the act almost too difficult to attempt. Deciding to cut his losses, Aang speeded back towards his camp on Kyoshi and rest for the remainder of the day.

The sky was turning dark with only the last shades of pink retreating with the sun into the horizon, and Aang had just finished erecting his camp, though he started working a few hours earlier. He had gone through the tasks slow and distracted, unlike his usual self during his travels more than a year ago but now it seemed to be the norm for him.

With the thrill of the Elemental game long gone and his exhaustion from it disappearing, the dark thoughts that haunted him came back, tendrils slithering through his mind, sweeping him into a painful emptiness. Aang was alone and wherever he went, it seemed all of his friends were hundreds of miles away. Though this is not completely true, Appa lay only a few yards away from him, lying on the side of camp closest to the sinking sun so he could absorb its final rays of heat. However, even with his steadfast flying bison at his side, he still felt the voids left by his human companions.

Aang, the last known airbender alive and current Avatar could not help but think of a special day immediately after the war. What happened was almost a year ago and yet it was on his mind every day when he was not distracted by his duties and games. It was after Gaang succeeded in stopping the Fire Nation's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom. All of his closest friends, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, and Suki, were all still alive and came out with few serious injuries.

With the Firelord surrendering after he lost his bending, Team Avatar worked to free the thousands of prisoners incarcerated in the Fire Nation. Princess Azula, who lost her sanity before her father was defeated, had to be placed in the care of the capital's mental hospital. Zuko's coronation brought everyone up in good spirits as family and friends reunited in the palace courtyard.

Though Aang did not completely forgive himself for his mistakes in the distant and recent past, he was filled with confidence for the promise his generation held for the changed world. Days after the coronation, the group traveled to the recently liberated Ba Sing Se, celebrating their victory at Iroh's tea shop, _The Jasmine Dragon_. Zuko, much to all of their displeasure, stayed in the Fire Nation to reorganize the government and military.

For Aang, the team's party at the_ Jasmine Dragon_ was a warm, bright star that then turned into a black, heavy weight on his mind in a matter of seconds. The day itself was not dreadful entirely; most of the day was actually one of the best that he had ever had. While Iroh and Aang were making what the older man called his best batch of tea, Toph sat leaning on the wall, bored, causing a small green pebble to slide across the floor. Momo, who she evidently was trying to entice, scrambled after it for several minutes, infuriated. As the lemur continued to catch the stone, he noticed two mice nibbling on bread crumbles in a corner and went after them instead.

Sokka and Suki were sitting down at one of the tables, both concentrated on the Pai Sho game between them. Surprisingly, Sokka was able to stay toe to toe with her and several times it seemed he had outmaneuvered Suki and would win. Though when it appeared Sokka's strategy would make him triumphant, the Kyoshi warrior won the game with one unexpected move. Sokka stared at the board with a baffled expression before hitting his head repeatedly against it. Suki then lifted his head from the board and softened his glare with a long kiss, which he happily sunk into.

Meanwhile Katara sat alone; immersed into writing what she called the records of their adventures and quest to save the world. In between tasks, Aang had sneaked glances to appreciate how beautiful she was now. Though he crushed on her even when she wore ragged clothes and grime covered her skin, Katara cleaned up very nicely and Aang remembered how attractive she was in the fashion of Ba Sing Se's elite women. Worst of all were the two times he had kissed her, the first before the invasion and the second after that horrible play before the war ended. Even though Aang wanted to think fondly of those moments, he instead felt regret.

"She is a very pretty girl young Avatar," Iroh commented in a voice only Aang could hear as the older man passed by him, interrupting his thoughts.

He had blushed, knowing it was pointless pretending he had not looked; instead he decided to open up. "I like her, it's just..., I don't think the time's right and what if she still doesn't have the same feelings for me"?

Iroh paused from stirring the tea in the kettle, and then continued with a small, knowing smile. "You could say the time was not right during the war, but now it is over and peace has returned, you have the opportunity to focus on love now. I advise you to seize it, because wait too long, someone else will take it from you. At your age, it is normal to have these insecurities and uncertainties, but one of the steps to growing up is being decisive."

Aang felt the tension that weighed on him disappear and he looked over at Iroh with gratitude. "Thanks Iroh, Zuko is lucky to have an uncle like you." Aang frowned, realizing what he said.

"You must miss him greatly. Will you be okay here alone"?

Iroh did not respond, instead going over to the tea kettle and taking it off the fire pit. "Our batch is ready, now the real party will begin. Don't worry about an old man such as me, I am happy and content. You go make sure you do the same with yours."

When Iroh and Aang came out of the kitchen and set the kettle onto a circular table that could allow all of them to sit together, though Iroh excused himself to his quarters upstairs. He wanted to give the teenage friends their space. Hours flew by as they recalled past adventures and each individual stated what they would do in the future.

Suki was returning to Kyoshi Island with her Kyoshi warriors, Sokka coming along to spend time with her and to assist her village in planning out their next expansion. Toph talked excitedly about how she would start teaching metalbending to other advanced Earthbenders. It became her ambition to pass on the skill after she learned it during their misadventures in Ba Sing Se months ago.

Aang admitted he was unsure of what his position required of him in peacetime except to keep the separate nations from disrupting the balance once again and improving himself in the three elements he had not yet mastered. When Katara's turn came, she hesitated, pain weighing down on her. She revealed her decision to return with her father the South Pole to start rebuilding their former settlement. With this everyone sobered and turned away, the friends faced the truth. They were going to be separated after a year of working together.

The Gaang tried to regain their former vigor and celebratory spirit but soon slowly parted, except for Aang and Katara. The latter went outside and stared at the night sky as if she was hopelessly searching for answers in the stars. Aang, slumped in his chair, gazing at Katara through the open door, glued down by indecisiveness that has appeared more and more lately in his life. Then, without fully realizing what he was doing, the Avatar rose from his seat and strode over to join her.

The two friends stood together on the front porch of the _Dragon_, silent as both of them were now stuck in a very awkward situation. Aang tried with all of his will to say something that was at not stupid and embarrassing, but his mind was left blank. Thankfully Katara saved him by speaking first.

"It's nice to see the city being rebuilt after what happened."

Aang smiled at the observation and a thought came to him, glad for the distraction.

"If Ba Sing Se can be rebuilt, then maybe we will be able to do the same for the rest of the world."

"You could even restore the Air Nomad civilization," she added, catching his optimistic mood.

Aang frowned and look down at his feet. A whole culture lost for a century, with him as the only airbender left?

"I don't think it can be done, not by myself."

Katara gently pushed his head up and wrapped her arms around him.

"You have us, you're not alone in this, and I'll personally help when I can. We all will."

"Thank you Katara, I could have never saved the world alone without you guys, especially you."

She tensed at that and tried to brush it off as she let go of Aang, but noticing her body language, confusion appeared on his face.

"Is something wrong"? he inquired with his trademark innocence.

"No, but..., I hope you don't mean that you..., have any special feelings for me."

Aang stooped, he had made a stupid mistake, again! Why did he have to be reckless about these kind of things?!

"Oh, I see, you already like someone else," the Avatar said quietly.

"No, I don't like anyone that way, but..."

"But, what"? Aang said rashly, impatience slowly joining the tidal pool of emotions in his mind.

"Aang, you have to make sure the world's transition to harmony is peaceful, and I'm going to go back to my tribe, we can't have that kind of relationship so far away from each other. It would hurt both of us too much."

"That's not the whole truth, is it"? Aang replied calmly, though he felt anger creep into him.

"Only partly," Katara admitted, she paused, as if it were a physical struggle to push the words out, "Aang, you are one the closest people to me and I love you deeply, but only as family, I'm sorry."

He felt all the anger suddenly disappear. His body sunk to the ground, folding onto the stairs, hands resting on his knees for support.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I tried to ruin our friendship for something that didn't exist in the first place; you just prevented me from doing it."

Katara did not reply, unknown to Aang she was just barely able to keep herself upright and saying the words that would crush both of them.

"I think I should leave early, it would be best for everyone."

Before Aang could stop her, she walked away quickly into the city, leaving him on the steps of the _Jasmine Dragon_.

The memory came and passed over him like a dark wave during a storm. He did not want to stay in the empty camp lost in his thoughts, so Aang abruptly stood up and carrying his staff he marched along the coastline, lost in the sounds of nature that surrounded him. The area around the cliffside is pocketed with shrubs, small boulders, and thin trees swaying with in coordination with the wind. Stopping to lean on a boulder giving him a good view of the churning ocean, the Avatar once more delved into his mind. Though Aang had been to Kyoshi Island before during his travels the past year, he had only stayed for a couple of days and spent little time with Sokka and Suki. Now the Avatar was free from his obligations for several months, and he desperately wanted to see his friends again.

With these thoughts going through his head, Aang sensed the vibrations coming from the ground just in time to evade. He jumped off the boulder and leaps into the air as his attacker passes under him. He flipped in midair and perched on the rock facing his opponent, ready with his staff. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see it was Ty Lee, wearing her unique pink robes and sash. The unexpected and eccentric visitor, her slender yet subtly muscular resting on her curved hips as she grinned gleefully at him, suddenly charged towards him again.

**It will take more time to post the second chapter because my house's interior is being remodeled so I will have limited to no access to the internet. I would very much appreciate help with upcoming action scenes because I am mediocre at planning and describing them. About Katara…, though this is a Ty Lee/Aang fanfic, she will not be sidelined in the story and I promise to make her a major part of the series, with no love triangles! Review and follow if you want to catch the next chapter when it comes out. Bye Everyone! **

**-Welly of the Grunts**


	2. Pieces Move, Fates Shift

**Sorry for the delay, there was less time for me to write than I planned because of family events. Also I gave myself too little time to clean-up the draft. **

**A special thanks to NightWhisper184 for pointing me in the right direction for the story. **

Ty Lee, wearing a determined grin, raced towards the Avatar in long strides with her arms posed to strike at him.

Knowing he could not jump up again due to the girl's agility, Aang dodged to the right, evading jabs from both of her arms. He flipped the right side of his staff, moving his hands down the left to take advantage of the weapon's length, and tried to swing fast enough to pin the acrobat's arms to the ground.

Though his execution was quick, his opponent blocked the staff with her hand and sidestepped away to face him. She then resumed her offensive by jabbing at him while staying close to render his bending ineffective. This meant he could only use his air staff to block the swift sequence of thrusts aimed at him. Because he was unsure which parts of his body were critical to his chi, he was forced to deflect even the slightest touch.

Changing tactics to conserve energy, Ty Lee sprung away from the Avatar and vaulted above him. Aang shifted the left end of his staff and thrust it upwards to force her to maneuver away. However, she simply slowed down and landed on the pole, balancing perfectly on one foot.

The Avatar stared at her in shock, having forgotten how flexible and balanced she could be, while she met his gaze and grinned maddeningly. She then jumped from the staff and jabbed her finger into the top of his right shoulder.

"Come on," Ty Lee chirped, landing gracefully a few feet away, "it's not fun if we don't play fair."

Ignoring the gentle taunting, Aang remained calm and paid attention to her body movements. Though she must have blocked his bending ability in his right arm, he retained physical control of it. He would have to make due with that for now.

The two began circling one another, their chests opposite each other and their stances reflecting the contrast between them: Aang kept his feet planted on the ground, both his arms up to intercept strikes from her, while Ty Lee balanced on her tiptoes, positioned to dart towards or away from him at a second's notice.

Aang hurriedly searched his mind for a way to incapacitate her; he had no experience facing a non-bender who could hold his own against him, much less someone like Ty Lee. Benders normally held a crippling advantage over non-benders. This bubbly, pink-robed girl had him, the Avatar, on the defensive. It was time to be creative.

As Ty Lee sprinted the short space between them, Aang sidestepped to her left. Having expected him to be more agile, she turned to catch him while he evaded. Instead of trying to outmatch her speed and agility, Aang stood his ground. By stomping his right foot into the ground, he created a thick stone square that imprisoned his opponent.

Recovering from the surprise deterrent, Ty Lee leapt through the open top, only to be met by a blast of air that nearly blew her off the cliff. She reacted instantly, her body spinning sideways, and landed with her hands gripping the cliff's edge. The quick recovery impressed Aang, who had expected her to be injured and wincing, not steady and grinning like she was now.

The grin widened.

Before Aang could move, Ty Lee pushed off from the cliff and tumbled over the side, disappearing from view. The sight startled a gasp from him. Quickly retrieving his staff, he ran to the jagged edge and peered down it, straining his eyes for any sign of the acrobat.

Out of nowhere it seemed, a hand darted upwards and grabbed the hem of his pants. A swift yank made him lose his balance, and he yelped as he plummeted over the cliff's edge. By snapping his staff, the unfurled fans transforming it into a glider, he slowed his descent. The ground, however, loomed at him too quickly for his peace of mind.

Something landed on top of his glider, nearly sending him crashing into the cliff side. He stifled a groan and twisted his head to peer over his shoulder. Ty Lee's grinning face greeted him.

"Did you miss me?" she asked with a giggle before stabbing her finger into his left shoulder.

With his bending gone from both of his arms, Aang struggled to keep the glider from plummeting into the jagged rocks. As they drew closer to the water, he came up with a dangerous but necessary maneuver.

"Get on the other side of the glider!" Aang shouted at the girl.

Joining him, Ty Lee quickly latched onto Aang's torso, her legs wrapping around his back and her arms encircling his neck. He then sharply wheels his glider up, missing the edge of the ocean and hugging the cliff as he ascended.

Passing the top of the cliffside, they continued to spin in the air. Ty Lee let go of Aang and now was trying to pull his arms away to control the aircraft. Only by accidentally finding a ticklish spot on her side did he get her to loosen her grip on him. Their fighting over the controls caused the glider to tumble, gravity now directing it; Aang spared the approaching ground a panicked glance.

"Let go of the glider and hug me. I'll slow our descent!"

Ty Lee only stared at him in panic.

"Trust me!" Aang pleaded.

She nodded, ditching it and grabbed him in a bear hug. He folded the glider back as his staff, and brought it above his head as they fell. Though Aang's chi was blocked, he could still use the design to spin the staff fast enough to save them.

Rotating it furiously, their descent did slow, but it would be a rough landing. To avoid injuring them further, he threw the staff away to a safe distance away from them.

They hit the ground, limbs interlocked, hard enough to knock the breath from their lungs briefly. Aang, the first to recover enough strength to move, quickly pinned her hands on either side of her head. Instead of resisting, she lay still and breathed in rhythm with him. He eyed her, waiting for her to strike at him, but she merely smirked before her features smoothed into a warm smile.

"Well, that was fun," the acrobat giggled, gazing at the night sky above their heads. "Nothing like a good workout at the end of the day." Aware of his bewildered stare, she returned her attention to him, her eyebrow rising and a playful smirk twisting her lips. "Could you let me up, please?"

He sprang to his feet and held out one hand to help her up, only to watch her jump backwards onto her hands, do a back flip, and land in perfect form on her feet.

She bowed, her torso flush with her legs, and then straightened, hands resting on her hips. "So, what's for dinner?"

Aang watched, baffled, as the young girl eagerly dug into her bowl of berries. The rapid, nearly frantic, pace at which she ate, her hand whipping from the bowl to her mouth in a blur of skin, surprised him.

When they had arrived at his camp earlier, Aang, strangely uplifted from entertaining company, had wasted no time preparing bowls of cooked rice and fresh berries; the latter he had collected from nearby bushes. For comfort's sake, he had insisted that Ty Lee sit beside Appa. The girl, not seeming to mind the bison, had dove straight for the berries, ignoring the rest of the offered meal.

He still was bemused about how she had appeared out of nowhere, attacked him, and now rested with him at camp like an old friend. His first thought was that the Fire Nation had sent her after him, but he discarded that suspicion when he remembered that she had joined the Kyoshi warriors after their release from imprisonment. With that in mind, her presence on the island now made sense. However, he still did not understand what she had been doing alone in the uninhabited area of the island.

Swallowing the remaining berries, Ty Lee sighed in relief. A red smudge of juice stained her mouth. The worst of her hunger now satisfied, she returned her attention to her host with an awkward smile.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away," she said, losing the sudden rush of energy that had been so prevalent a minute ago. She slowly picked up the rice.

Aang returned her smile. "It's okay. I just didn't think you could eat that many berries so quickly."

"Well, when you're forced to eat only rice and water for a month or so of traveling, you tend appreciate alternatives." As she spoke, mirth sparkled in her eyes.

He paused and considered her answer. Why would she spend more than a month in the wild part of the island? She must have traveled to and from the island somehow, but if that was the case, where was her craft? None of it made any sense. Then again, the girl had already proved unconventional, as evidenced by her flamboyant entrance.

When he questioned her about how and why she had left the island, she lost her grin and stared at him with an unreadable expression. It took a second for her to return to her usual bubble personality.

"I left my boat down the coast where it flattens. It'll stay there until I come back for it. Sorry, I can't tell you where I went; I'm on orders from Suki not to disclose my mission until I return to her."

Aang frowned, slightly irritated by the rebuttal, and insisted, "But I'm the Avatar and a friend of Suki, remember? You can trust me."

Dismissing his statement with a flick of her wrist, Ty Lee casually leaned against Appa. ""Nope, my superior said no exceptions. I'm sure she'll tell you when we get back to the village."

"Well then, I'll take us there on Appa right now," he replied, unwilling to subject himself to her will.

Ty Lee abruptly flipped forward, using her legs to push her body upside down. Then, landing on her arms, she rested her head on her hands. Her legs swished back and forth above her head.

"Why rush? We have a nice area of land to walk through, and you want to fly over it? Don't be so impatient. We'll make it back to Suki this time tomorrow, I promise."

Aang mentally brushed off his irritation and, when he saw her predicament, exploded with laughter.

His merry mood confused her. She scratched her head, only then noticing bright flashes in her peripheral vision. Upon further inspection, she saw what appeared to be white straw littering the ground around her. The sight perplexed her, so she peered upwards to find the source.

When she discovered that the material coated the back of her tunic and pants, she gasped in horror, recalling how Azula had used Appa's shedding to track the Avatar. She hurriedly spun her body to stand upright. Bison fur rained down on her as she danced around, trying to rip the white hairs from her clothes.

After recovering from his laughing fit, Aang fought a grin in vain and attempted to help Ty Lee. He spun his arms, collecting an orb of whirling air. When the ball grew to the size he wanted, he blasted the acrobat's twirling form. This caused her to squeal in an impossibly high pitch. Long brown hair and pink clothing flapped uncontrollably around her.

Ty Lee, bug-eyed with shock, was spun out of Aang's tornado as it died out. The acrobat steadied herself and twisted to face him, glowering for the first time since they met.

By clasping his hands behind his back and grinning with a child-like countenance, Aang cracked the dark mood in her. A tiny, fleeting grin slipped through her stoic mask. It was replaced by a frown as she turned away to adjust her disheveled ponytail.

Aang dropped his innocent façade, his body sagging slightly and one leg kicking at the dirt. Embarrassed, he looked back at her figure with his best apologetic face.

"I'm sorry for blasting you with airbending, and for Appa's shedding." Though he tried to remain serious, a note of amusement and a smile came with the last part. It seemed to lighten the awkward air between them.

Expression softening, Ty Lee spun breezily on her right leg to face him.

"It's okay. I wasn't bothered by it too much, really. Plus, you were just being sweet." Her forgiving smile lessened as she strained to see the stubborn fur clinging to her clothes. "Though I think your bison's fur might be a little too much for me to handle for an entire night and day. I thought he only shed in the spring."

"Animals shed in the spring and summer; Appa just does it more in the spring," Aang replied, as if it was common knowledge.

Ty Lee continued to scratch at the itchy fur on her tunic. "Well, if this stuff stays as bad as it is now, we'll have to fly over there in the morning. I need a new change of clothes and a wash."

Though he was impatient to see Suki and Sokka, Aang regretted that Appa's shedding caused her so much discomfort she had no choice but to accept his proposition of flying instead of walking. It was a cheap way to win. He pondered a way they could travel by land the way she wanted, but there were no extra clothes in his bags and the only water available to wash her tunic and pants in held too many jagged rocks. The feeling of being useless at solving her predicament ate at him more than he thought it would.

Unaware of the Avatar's confliction, Ty Lee finished fixing her hair and clothes before lying down on a sleeping mat far from Appa.

Good night..." She paused. "I'm sorry, what is your name?"

Aang, already at his own bed, smiled at her. "It's Aang."

He laid down and fell into dreams that he hoped would not torment him.

The next morning, thankful that he always traveled light, Aang packed up the remaining supplies. Appa, who could carry a surprising amount of weight in addition to his body mass and still fly effortlessly, had the majority of the luggage harnessed to his saddle to prevent them from impeding his mobility.

Aang took great care to make as little noise as possible since his companion was still asleep, though she seemed to stiffen whenever he passed by her. It must be a nightmare, he reasoned, and he stood there for a few seconds, conflicted about whether he should wake her or let her rest for a few more minutes. He decided on the latter until after the camp was completely disassembled. Once he secured the last bag to Appa's flank, he jumped down silently to retrieve his staff and awaken his companion.

Just as he started towards her, Ty Lee leapt off her mattress, her back to him, and began stretching. In the short time it took to loosen her body into from sleep, he unconsciously admired her attractive figure.

When she finished her stretches, Aang, hoping he was not blushing, recovered from his trance and walked towards her, making it look like he had only just walked away from Appa.

"Good morning, company," Ty Lee greeted cheerfully, hands on her hips as she grinned at him.

"A good one indeed," Aang agreed, ready to reunite with his friends. "You okay with leaving right now?"

Her grin widened. "Definitely! I don't know how these clothes didn't itch during the night, but now it's coming back." She scratched the back of her tunic, annoyance flickering across her face.

"Well, let us be off then!" Aang declared heartily before bouncing backwards into the air.

He flipped backwards to land on Appa's neck, as he was used to doing in his previous travels. However, before he could settle in and ready the bison to take off, his companion surprised him once more.

"Hello again."

Aang turned to see Ty Lee already leaning in the saddle, beaming at his confused expression. Used to being the fasted member of his group, he did not understand how she could have beaten him to Appa when he had only just landed.

"How did you get here so fast?" the Avatar inquired, frowning at her casual demeanor.

"That's another secret I'm not going to tell you, and this one doesn't have an expiration date until I say so."

Grunting in reply, he turned away with a smile, now preparing to take off.

She was an interesting person to be with. Why would someone as friendly as her work for the Fire Nation in the first place?

Horror transfixed Aang at the sight of the land below them. The valley, lying south of the main mountain and in between two shorter ranges, was sheathed in smoke and ash. Small, dying fires dotted the landscape here and there, highlighting the remains of vegetation and buildings.

The distracting sight nearly caused him to fly completely over the island. He shook himself from his stupor and had Appa turn back to the large mountain from which they had originally come. With a dull thud the bison landed roughly on a platform that jutted from the mountainside.

Aang sprung off Appa and landed on the cliff's edge to examine the wreckage more clearly.

Columns of smoke rose above the smaller mountains and drifted to the western coastline of the island. That must have been why they had no seen the smoke until now: the mountain had blocked their view.

From this angle and altitude, he could see more of the village's remains, husks of wooden houses that stood like skeletons on a field. Around them were the charred stalks of trees, blackened by flames. Surprisingly, some parts of the forest remained untouched, separated by a large, snaking river that went around the base of the mountain they stood on now.

The wreckage brought to mind the time he, Katara, and Sokka had discovered an ancient forest's destruction and encountered the panda spirit Hei Bai. That was another mistake he had almost forgotten but now added to his list of failures. He could have prevented that from happening, and this, too, if he had not been so foolish and focused on having fun.

The Avatar lowered his head in shame.

Anger welled inside him, directed not only towards himself, but also at those who had caused this devastation. Only the Fire Nation had the capability and willingness to commit such a crime. How, though? Zuko, he knew, would never order this. The only deduction he could provide was that there had been a coup. He mentally scanned through the possible suspects who wished to usurp Zuko's throne.

Aang eliminated Ozai. With his bending removed, the Phoenix King was broken, mentally and emotionally and held no sway over his people. That left his daughter, Azula, but she had gone insane at the end of the war. She now resided in a mental hospital, to his knowledge.

However, he thought, the former princess could have recovered during the last year. Additionally, one of her friends and most trusted followers stood next to him.

From the beginning, he had pondered Ty Lee's appearance in the wild part of the island instead of reporting to Suki immediately for her "mission" and why the boat she had used was nowhere in sight. At the time, however, he had merely been curious and assumed she was just acting strange, as she had at camp.

His reservations now rushed back at him, and he wondered if the acrobat was once again working for Azula.

By landing on the island, Ty Lee could have signaled when the villages were most vulnerable, allowing the Fire Nation to strike quickly without an effective resistance. She could have killed Suki, Sokka, and maybe everyone else on Kyoshi Island.

With a scapegoat in front of him, Aang's mind clouded, the painful buildup of grief and anger overloading his brain. He finally burst under the strain.

Using unnecessary force, the Avatar bended the edge of the cliff under Ty Lee into an incline, pushing her into the ground close to the wall of the mountain. The girl's eyes widened as she desperately dodged a man-sized boulder he threw at her.

"What are you doing"? She screamed, recovering from his sudden attack.

"You killed these people! You helped the Fire Nation slaughter innocents," Aang shouted hoarsely. He blinked away tears and glared, continuing, "Sokka, Suki, the Kyoshi Warriors—they're all gone because of you and your people!"

White light began to glow from the Avatar's markers and eyes, his body ascending few feet above her. Air spun furiously around him, forming a perfect sphere. Turning his palm up, he lifted the hand in a swift motion.

Ty Lee did not react quick enough to avoid a stone circle coming around, a hole in the center large enough to trap her in a tight squeeze. Then using his other hand, a portion of the cliff above them was peeled off and floated above her, ready to be brought down.

When they had sparred against each other last night, both of them had been held in a stalemate because he had not been able to win without purposely hurting her. Now, he had no such reservations; Ty Lee was powerless against his bending.

Aang's subconscious, buried underneath the Avatar State, urged him to stop and show mercy to the girl, but the emotions creating his power prevented his better nature from intervening.

Suddenly, the Avatar State left him, and he appeared in a misty, empty field. He turned this way and that, scanning the area for signs of life.

"You refuse to kill the Firelord, yet here you are, almost slaughtering a young girl," a distant, yet clear, voice materialized in the fog, its direction unclear to him. The voice seemed familiar to Aang, though he could not place it.

A withered figure came into view in front of him, someone very close to the Avatar, though he had not seen him for a long time.

"Avatar Roku!" Aang exclaimed, surprised to see his previous incarnation.

"I wish I could say it is good to see you, Aang, but our circumstances would make it untrue. Be thankful I halted your actions, otherwise you would have done something else you would regret," scolded Roku, his expression and body language impassive

"She's collaborated in their destruction. I'm done being merciful to those who will just cause harm to others," shouted Aang in response, quickly losing patience with him.

Roku frowned. "Then you are ready to effectively stop whoever is responsible. However, simply lashing out at others because you have only the slightest suspicion is not the way to go about it. Your anger has been building inside for some time and when it became overwhelming, clouding your mind, you needed an outlet to release it. You have to keep yourself calm and alert, but do not push away those who can help you. With what I have seen through you, I can tell that this girl is good natured in heart like you."

Staring at his spiritual master, Aang accepted the folly he had almost made. "You're right, Master Roku. I lost myself in anger and almost did something I could never forgive. But...what do I do? Even with the others, we can't stop the Fire Nation like we did before. I don't even know what the Fire Nation is planning."

"Though I only have the power to tell you what I knew in my lifetime and what I see from your perspective, there is something I have sensed recently. Do not ask how I came upon this information for even I do not know. On Whale Tale Island, you will find an advantage in the war that is coming. I advise you to travel there with all possible speed."

"Great, another conflict, right after the last one," Aang muttered under his breath before directing his attention back at Roku. "Alright, I'll go there right away. But...what should I do with Ty Lee?"

"The island is likely purged of its inhabitants, be they captured or killed. The best thing you can do is allow her to accompany you as far as your destination, where she can then find a way to wherever she wants to go."

Avatar Roku's voice faded as his body dissipated into the mist again, leaving Aang still uncertain, albeit with a goal to pursue.

A bright flash surrounded the young Avatar, blinding him as he left the spirit world. The white light disappeared, allowing Aang to recover.

He found himself back on the cliff side, now on the ground. However, before he recuperated, a string of jabs struck him, quick and precise. Aang fell to the ground, paralyzed from the neck down and unable to bend any of the four elements.

Ty Lee stood over him, free from his stone restrain, which now lay scattered on the ground, having broken when he lost control of his Avatar State. She glowered at him while dusting off her tunic and proceeded to drag him over to the wall of the platform.

How dare he randomly attempt to squash her like an ant!

The Avatar's bison, infuriated by his master being struck, roared and stomped towards her, ready to defend Aang. Then, strangely, Aang whistled a sharp note, which seemed to restrain the bison, though it continued to watch her with suspicion.

"Okay, I know what you're thinking: since I'm Fire Nation and chased your group for months, I must still be in league with whatever is going on. But I don't know what happened! The Fire Nation must have attacked the village, but I had nothing to do with it," Ty Lee snapped, glaring at him all the while.

"I know," Aang replied quietly.

"Wait—then why did you attack me?"

"After seeing all of this destruction, in my mind you became a target for me to blame. I got lost in anger, which has building up for a while now."

"That's still no excuse to randomly try to crush me!" she exclaimed, baffled by his logic.

"Of course it's not an excuse, and I'm sorry for what I did to you. I guess you could say midway I stopped myself from doing it."

Ty Lee frowned, considering what the Avatar said while he leaned on the wall passively. She knew people were capable of a change of heart, even though his version of doing so was strange.

Conflicted, she relaxed from her tense stance and gazed away from him, staring at the wreckage of the villages. Aang seemed to be genuinely remorseful, but the memory of being at his mercy plagued her, fear keeping her from forgiving him.

Then the persistent bison fur clinging to Ty Lee's tunic bothered the skin underneath, interrupting her inner conflict and forcing her to scratch at it. Though annoying, it presented a convenient opportunity for her.

"I'm going to the river beneath us to clean my clothes, and when I come back we'll decide what to do next," she stated, turning to a decline that would allow safe travel down to the base of the mountain.

"Wait, you have fix me!"

"It'll wear off in an hour or so," she replied, not stopping her walk down the mountain.

An hour later, she strode through the remaining patch of green forest in the valley, searching for a good place in the river. Also on her mind was the thought leaving the island without accompanying Aang. Though he was not a bad person, the power the Avatar wielded terrified her.

Ty Lee wondered for a second if the boat was able to take her to the closest island, but she shot down the idea. The craft was not large enough to handle the deep ocean and did not have the storage capacity for the supplies she estimated she would need for the journey. Like it or not, Ty Lee's best choice was to go with Aang.

As she approached the river, which really resembled a large stream, Ty Lee noticed a faint red coloring in the water closest to the shore she stood on, flowing with the current. Following the path of the strange dye with her gaze, she gasped when she found a body lying face down on a cluster of rocks crossing the waterway.

Dread overcame her at the possibility of seeing a dead person right in front of her. Nevertheless, she ran towards the body, whose clothing was torn and whose skin was spotted with serious burns. Ty Lee flipped the body over and gasped in shock. It was that cute Water tribe boy, Sokka. She realized as she studied him that he was alive, though unconscious.

She had to get Aang.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review to help make the story better and follow if you want to see future chapters. I'm not updating based on the amount of follows, the number of follows and favorites aren't important, I just recommend it as an easy way of finding it. School is coming up in August, so it's likely I'll only be done with the planning and rough draft for the next chapter when it hits. Mid-August is probably when it will be published.**

**Have a good day everyone. **

**-Welly of the Grunts **


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